So much so at least one national tabloid `told' Sven if he wanted to show his team how an England side can perform with pride and passion, he should tell Becks and his boys to watch Jonny Wilkinson and co.

However, it is doubtful if the Newcastle skipper and the rest of the England team would have made anywhere near the same impact if their game had been shown on Sky Sports instead of the dear old Beeb, for the simple reason far fewer people would have been able to watch it than the 5.6 million who tuned in on terrestrial TV.

Rugby union is a minority sport compared to football and it needs exposure to the general public as much, if not more, than it does money up front in the form of television revenue.

Thanks to this season's RBS Six Nations exposure on terrestrial TV, Wilkinson is now instantly recognisable to the general public and there is a new generation of kids who want to be just like him.

It's just the boost the sport at grassroots level needed and one it didn't get when televised English rugby was the sole preserve of the satellite boys.

Equally, sponsors are delighted at the extra subliminal advertising that comes their way via the millions of extra viewers the BBC enjoys, so it's a bit like swings and roundabouts - what you lose in the television cash from Sky you hope to make up in extra sponsorship.

But is switching to terrestrial a win, win situation so far as rugby is concerned? Well, yes and no - and, in a way, it's a very big NO.

Because, quite honestly, when compared with the professional excellence of Sky Sports' rugby coverage, BBC's offerings can only be described as amateur hour.

From the quality of the camera work and the dexterity of the overall direction, right down to the professionalism of the commentators, Sky leaves the BBC for dead in every department.

I am pig sick of suddenly being shown a close-up or a replay only to miss the big picture of what is going on at what is invariably a crucial moment in the game.

Equally what is needed from a commentator is to be informed succinctly about what is going on when it matters - and sadly former internationals Eddie Butler and Brian Moore were incapable of doing that at Lansdowne Road.

Why, for instance, could neither of them tell us why the touch judge had pulled play back to disallow Wilkinson's third drop goal at the start of the second half?

If either or both of them had been listening to the live `feed' between referee and touch judge instead of to their own voices, they would have been able to explain instead of having to admit they didn't know.

Had it been Sky Sports, the excellent Miles Harrison and, yes, Stuart Barnes - commentating giants compared to the BBC pygmies - would not only have told us instantly, we would also have heard the soundtrack between ref and touch judge for ourselves.

And last but not least, could someone please explain why we have to cut to some blonde bimbo from the Ministry of Silly Questions just when the action is hotting up?

It is bad enough missing out to a replay or an ill-conceived close-up.

But to pan down to said bimbo with 10 minutes to go and the score 30-6 to England for this illuminating question to an embarrassed-looking ex-Ireland international: "What hopes have Ireland now the game, sadly, looks lost?" is simply beyond the pale!

The BBC have a great product in international rugby but their actual coverage is dreadful.

I admired BBC director- general Greg Dyke's sentiments, if not his language, when he urged his troops to "cut the crap."